Britten Canticles at the Theatre Royal, Brighton

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Britten’s Canticles are, in one sense, like Beethoven’s string quartets: a medium to which the composer constantly returned; a crucible in which he intensely explored ideas — psychological, social, sexual and musical — that resonate more expansively in his bigger works. There are five of them, spanning 27 years, and they set poetry for one, two or three male voices and piano, with a harp and horn making guest appearances.

Britten never intended them to be sung together, or staged at all — let alone as overtly as they are sometimes done by five directors in this production, jointly mounted by Brighton Festival,